U.S. patent number 8,668,073 [Application Number 12/997,526] was granted by the patent office on 2014-03-11 for multipath conveyor installation.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sidel Participations. The grantee listed for this patent is David Perrin, Zmaj Petrovic, Haim Touitou. Invention is credited to David Perrin, Zmaj Petrovic, Haim Touitou.
United States Patent |
8,668,073 |
Petrovic , et al. |
March 11, 2014 |
Multipath conveyor installation
Abstract
The conveyor installation makes it possible to control the speed
of items of the bottle (1) type dispatched in several trains
distributed across various paths in the form of single-file lanes
(11). The lanes are delimited by a pair of walls (16, 17) which are
arranged in an omega shape over a base plate made up of several
juxtaposed conveyors (13, 14, 15). Each lane (11) may comprise a
fixed wall (16) acting as a reference, and a moving wall (17) that
can be adjusted according to the dimensions of the items that are
to be conveyed.
Inventors: |
Petrovic; Zmaj (Octeville sur
Mer, FR), Perrin; David (Octeville sur Mer,
FR), Touitou; Haim (Octeville sur Mer,
FR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Petrovic; Zmaj
Perrin; David
Touitou; Haim |
Octeville sur Mer
Octeville sur Mer
Octeville sur Mer |
N/A
N/A
N/A |
FR
FR
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Sidel Participations (Octeville
sur Mer, FR)
|
Family
ID: |
40139935 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/997,526 |
Filed: |
June 11, 2009 |
PCT
Filed: |
June 11, 2009 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/FR2009/051097 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
December 10, 2010 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2009/150379 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
December 17, 2009 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20110088997 A1 |
Apr 21, 2011 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 13, 2008 [FR] |
|
|
08 03276 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
198/452;
198/836.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G
47/71 (20130101); B65G 47/682 (20130101); B65G
21/2072 (20130101); B65G 47/31 (20130101); B65G
2047/685 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65G
47/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;198/452,456,458,461.1,836.1,836.3,836.4 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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|
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87 14 605 |
|
Jan 1988 |
|
DE |
|
43 30 702 |
|
Mar 1995 |
|
DE |
|
20 2005 001 689 |
|
Oct 2005 |
|
DE |
|
1 159 209 |
|
Dec 2001 |
|
EP |
|
1 420 368 |
|
Dec 1965 |
|
FR |
|
2 806 395 |
|
Sep 2001 |
|
FR |
|
2 918 973 |
|
Jan 2009 |
|
FR |
|
2 918 983 |
|
Dec 2010 |
|
FR |
|
758302 |
|
Oct 1956 |
|
GB |
|
896425 |
|
May 1962 |
|
GB |
|
00/17073 |
|
Mar 2000 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
Preliminary Search Report for FR 0953871, dated Feb. 4, 2010. cited
by applicant .
International Search Report for PCT/FR2010/051159, dated Sep. 2,
2010. cited by applicant .
International Search Report for PCT/FR2010/051160, dated Oct. 22,
2010. cited by applicant .
French Preliminary Search Report for FR0803276, dated Jan. 6, 2009.
cited by applicant .
International Search Report for PCT/FR2009/051097, dated Oct. 30,
2009. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Mar. 7, 2013, issued by the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office in U.S. Appl. No. 13/377,323. cited by
applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Harp; William R
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue Mion, PLLC
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A multipath conveyor installation configured to control speeds
of items being conveyed between two workstations, said items having
been dispatched in several strings distributed across a plurality
of paths formed as single-file lanes in a shape of an omega,
comprising: a conveyor baseplate provided for each of the
single-file lanes, respectively, and a pair of distinct walls
provided for each of the single-file lanes, respectively, arranged
above said baseplate, to guide each string of items separately
along the single-file lanes, each pair of the distinct walls
comprises a fixed guide wall and a movable guide wall, the fixed
guide wall and the movable guide wall defining a space therebetween
having a width configured to allow the items to pass therebetween,
adjacent ones of the single-file lanes having no walls in common, a
chassis configured to secure and support each of the fixed guide
walls of each of the single-file lanes, a U-shape slide configured
to movably support each of the movable guide walls of the
single-file lanes, movable with respect to the chassis, so as to
adjust the space defined between the movable guide wall and the
fixed guide wall.
2. The multipath conveyor installation according to claim 1,
wherein each baseplate consists of a succession of chains the
speeds of which vary from one to the other, and wherein the chains
are arranged in an omega shape, that is to say that the downstream
end of one borders on the upstream end of the next to allow the
bottles to pass from one chain to the other, guided by the walls of
the corresponding lane.
3. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
ends of adjacent chains of one and the same baseplate border one
another over an appropriate length which is dependent on the rate
and stability of the bottles.
4. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 3, further
comprising a plurality of maneuvering systems disposed at regular
intervals along the length of the conveyor configured to move the
U-shaped slide, comprising an elongated screw having a longitudinal
axis parallel to a bottom portion of the U-shaped slide and
connected to opposing side walls of the U-shaped slide, one end of
the screw connected to a gearwheel, so that rotation of the
gearwheel causes the screw to rotate thereby causing the U- shaped
slide to move.
5. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 4, further
comprising a nut attached to the opposing side walls of the
U-shaped slide, and through which the screw is received thereby
transferring a rotational movement of the screw to a translational
movement of the U-shaped slide to cause the movable guide walls to
move.
6. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 4, further
comprising a crank secured to the screw to rotate the screw.
7. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 4, further
comprising an electric motor configured to rotate the screw.
8. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 1, comprising
supporting structures for the walls of the lanes, which structures
are installed under an item conveying surface.
9. The conveyor installation as claimed in claim 1, comprising
supporting structures for the walls of the single-file lanes,
installed above an item conveying surface.
10. A line for controlling the speed of a stream of products
between a machine of the labeling machine kind and a machine of the
pallet wrapping machine kind, comprising a multipath conveyor
installation according to claim 1.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a National Stage of International Application
No. PCT/FR2009/051097 filed Jun. 11, 2009, which claims priority
from French Patent Application No. 0803276 filed Jun. 13, 2008, the
contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety.
The present invention relates to an installation for conveying
items of the bottle or vial kind or the like, and in particular to
a conveyor installation which forms the connection between the
machines that have different operating cycles.
It relates, for example, to a conveyor installation positioned
between a labeling machine in which the items, chiefly bottles,
exit at a high rate in single file, and a pallet wrapping machine
in which the speed at which said products enter is divided by the
number of products that make up the front that enters said pallet
wrapping machine.
It relates in particular, within this conveyor installation, to the
conveyor system which controls the speed of travel of the products
between the machines and, in particular, the way in which this
speed of travel varies.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In general, these conveyor systems are made up of several conveyors
arranged in series, forming an omega shape for example, and driven
with respect to one another at different speeds in order gradually,
and in stages, to reduce the speed of travel of the stream of
bottles.
The width of the active surface of each conveyor generally
corresponds at least to the width of the front of bottles arriving
at the pallet wrapping machine.
The bottles may either be channeled into a single lane or
dispatched into several adjacent lanes.
These lanes are positioned above the surface, or baseplate, of the
conveyor and are delimited by guide walls which are carried by
relatively rigid appropriate structures.
In order to transfer the stream of products from one conveyor to
the other, the walls of the lane or lanes act as deflectors; they
are inclined with respect to the direction of travel of the
bottles.
This inclination may, depending on how inclined it is and depending
on the speed at which the products are moving, impose significant
accelerations on the bottles and cause incidents.
Leaving aside any falling-over and/or jamming, the bottles are also
subjected the phenomena of intense friction against the deflecting
walls.
In the case of a multiple-lane conveyor system where there are
walls that are common to two adjacent lanes, the conveying of the
bottles may also be disturbed by problems of interference between
said adjacent lanes. The pressure that the bottles can apply to the
wall common to two adjacent lanes may cause deformation of this
wall and this deformation may cause bottles to jam in the lane the
width of which has been affected.
In addition, these multipath conveyors are not suited to accepting
bottles of different formats. Specifically, a change in format
means modifying the position of practically all of the walls, with,
in addition discrepancies which all add up.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention proposes a conveyor system which is able to
solve these various problems. It can very easily be installed and
incorporated in chains that process items of the bottle kind and is
also able to accept items of widely differing formats.
This conveyor system makes it possible, according to the needs, to
establish a gradual variation in the speed of the items from their
entry to their exit from said system and in the remainder of the
text will be termed a vario-conveyor.
This vario-conveyor according to the invention provides a reliable
and effective solution to guiding the bottles, even at high speed.
It also offers the possibility of improving the compactness of this
kind of installation that incorporates the vario-conveyor.
Its novel design makes for a pared-down construction and simpler
realization. It does away with the constraints which entail good
rigidity and high precision at the walls of the various lanes in
order to overcome the problems of deformation and interference
between the lanes.
The vario-conveyor according to the invention is of the multipath
type, for controlling the speeds of items of the bottle kind, or
other containers between two workstations, said bottles having been
dispatched in several strings distributed across the various paths
in the form of single-file lanes in the shape of an omega, which
lanes each consist of their own conveyor baseplate and of a pair of
distinct walls, arranged above each baseplate, to guide each string
of bottles separately.
This arrangement makes it possible to do away with the risks of
interference between two adjacent lanes and, in particular, the
risks associated with deformations of the dividing walls.
Still according to the invention, each baseplate consists of a
succession of conveyor chains the speeds of which vary from one to
the other, which chains are arranged in an omega shape, that is to
say that the downstream end of one borders on the upstream end of
the next to allow the items to pass from one chain to the other,
guided by the walls of the corresponding lane.
According to another arrangement of the invention, the ends of
adjacent chains of one and the same baseplate border one another
over an appropriate length which is notably dependent on the speed
or rate and stability of the items conveyed.
Still according to the invention, the conveyor structure comprises,
for each lane, a guide wall that acts as a right edge and a wall
that acts as a left edge, the opposing walls of two adjacent lanes
being separated by a space the magnitude of which corresponds at
least to the difference in dimensions of the items which are likely
to travel along said lanes.
According to another arrangement of the invention, the
vario-conveyor comprises, for each lane, a fixed wall acting as a
reference, secured to the chassis of said vario-conveyor, and a
moving wall, each moving wall being carried by a structure which is
guided transversely on said chassis and the position of which can
be adjusted through appropriate actuating means.
Still according to the invention, the vario-conveyor comprises a
fixed structure which supports the fixed walls of the lanes, which
fixed structure acts as a support and as a guide to the structure
which carries the moving walls via appropriate means of the slide
type.
According to another arrangement of the invention, the structures
which carry the fixed walls and the moving walls of the lanes are
installed under the item conveying surface.
According to one alternative form of embodiment of the invention,
the structures which carry the fixed walls and the moving walls of
the lanes are positioned above the item conveying surface.
Still according to the invention, the means of actuating the moving
structures consist of screw-nut systems, which systems are operated
using appropriate maneuvering means.
The invention may also have the following features, considered
separately or in combination: the nut may be a floating nut; the
appropriate maneuvering means consist of a crank which is which is
secured to the screw; the appropriate maneuvering means comprise an
angle transmission comprising a gearwheel which rotates as one with
the screw and a threaded flexible shaft which runs laterally along
the length of the chassis, controlled by electric motor means.
The invention also relates to a line for controlling the speed of a
stream of items of the bottle or vial type or other products,
between a machine of the labeling machine type and a machine of the
pallet wrapping type, and in particular to a line which comprises a
conveyor structure in the form of a vario-conveyor as detailed
hereinabove.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be further detailed using the following
description and accompanying drawings, given by way of indication,
and in which:
FIG. 1 shows the various constituent parts of an installation for
conveying items of the bottle kind between, for example, a labeling
machine and a pallet wrapping machine, which conveyor installation
comprises the vario-conveyor according to the invention;
FIG. 2 schematically depicts the traditional conveyor system as
used in installations of the kind depicted in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 depicts the vario-conveyor according to the invention, as
compared with the conveyor of the prior art detailed in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the upstream part of the vario-conveyor
depicted in FIG. 3, with lanes for guiding strings of bottles;
FIG. 5 shows part sections on AA and BB of FIG. 4 for lanes of
adjustable width;
FIGS. 6 and 7 depict an alternative form of embodiment of the means
for adjusting the width of the lanes respectively showing extreme
positions for the walls of the lanes, adapted to suit the
dimensions of the bottles;
FIG. 8 is an enlargement of part of the installation showing means
for adjusting the width of the lanes; and
FIG. 9 shows the installation illustrated in FIG. 5, comprising
another embodiment of the means for adjusting the width of the
lanes.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 schematically depicts a line for the preparation of packs of
items of the bottle 1 kind. This line comprises, at the entrance, a
labeling machine E and, at the end, a pallet wrapping machine F,
with a conveyor installation between the two.
This conveyor installation is made up of several specialist
conveyor systems which are able to control the variation in speed
that needs to be applied to the bottles 1 in order to change their
speed from the speed Ve at the exit from the labeling machine E to
a speed Vf at the entrance to the pallet wrapping machine F.
The conveyor installation comprises: a first conveyor system C1
which, starting out from a single path, dispatches the bottles 1 in
the form of strings into several single-file lines, a second
multipath conveyor system C2, corresponding to the vario-conveyor
of the invention, where the change in speed of the bottles 1
occurs, and a third conveyor system C3 where the bottles 1 are
accumulated and batches of these bottles 1 are prepared before they
enter the pallet wrapping machine F. On leaving the pallet wrapping
machine, the bottles 1 are grouped together in the form of a pack
2.
The conveyor system C2 is depicted in FIG. 2 in the traditional
configuration which corresponds to the prior art. It is made up of
several juxtaposed conveyors 3, 4 and 5 the overall width of which
can vary between the entry and the exit; in general, this width is
uniform and corresponds to the width of the batch of bottles 1
arriving at the pallet wrapping machine F.
This conveyor system depicted in FIG. 2 comprises several lanes 6
into which strings of bottles 1 have been dispatched.
These conveyors 3, 4 and 5 consist, for example, of several chains
7 which form the surface of the baseplate on which the bottles 1
rest and slide. This baseplate may have a width which corresponds
at least to the sum of the widths of the lanes 6, that is to say to
the width of the batch of bottles 1 which arrives at the entry to
the pallet wrapping machine F, as mentioned earlier.
It will also be noticed, in FIG. 2, that the number of chains 7 may
be greater than the number of lanes 6.
This conveyor system C2, which corresponds to the prior art, has a
total width L which is of the order of twice the sum of the widths
of the lanes 6.
These lanes 6 are delimited by walls 8 the number of which
corresponds to the number of lanes 6, plus one. These walls 8 serve
as guides and, at the same time, as deflectors to cause the
products 1 to move from the conveyor 3 to the conveyor 4 and from
the latter to the conveyor 5, each time with a variation in the
speed of the various strings of bottles.
In the deflection zone, the walls 8 are inclined with respect to
the direction of travel of the conveyors 3 to 5; this inclination
makes an angle d which is established on the basis of various
parameters associated notably with the rate, with the stability of
the bottles and also with the space available between the labeling
machine and the pallet wrapping machine in which to house the
entire conveyor installation.
FIG. 3 depicts the conveyor system C2 according to the invention,
termed a vario-conveyor.
This vario-conveyor C2 consists, as before, of several lanes 11,
for example four lanes, and each lane is attached to a series of
three, distinct, single-file, conveyors 13, 14 and 15.
These three conveyors 13 to 15 are arranged in an omega shape, like
the conveyors 3 to 5 in FIG. 2.
Each lane 11 consists of a series of conveyors 13 to 15 each of
which comprises a single chain 7 and each lane is delimited by two
side walls 16, 17 which are specific to it. The number of walls 16
and 17 is exactly twice the number of lanes 11 and each string of
bottles 1 is therefore guided by its own walls 16 and 17; there are
no walls in common as there were in the traditional conveying
system depicted in FIG. 2.
All the walls 16 are fixed to the installation, while all the walls
17 are mounted so that they can move and, for this purpose, are
connected together and connected to means that allow the width of
the lanes 11 to be adjusted according to the diameter of the
bottles to be conveyed. Such adjusting means will be described
further later.
It will be noted that the total width L of the vario-conveyor
according to the invention corresponds to the width of a pair of
chains 7 multiplied by the number of lanes 11.
By comparison with the width of the conveyors 13 to 15 depicted in
FIG. 2, the width of the vario-conveyor C2 according to the
invention, and depicted in FIG. 3, is one third smaller.
It will also be noted that, for the same flanking length D, the
angle d through which the bottles 1 are deflected is particularly
small in the case of the vario-conveyor according to the invention,
FIG. 3, as compared with that of the prior art depicted in FIG.
2.
The flanking D, that is to say the length over which the ends of
two chains of one and the same baseplate border one another, is
dependent on the speed, or rate, of the items and especially on
their stability.
FIG. 4 shows, on a larger scale, the upstream part of the
vario-conveyor C2 according to the invention which is depicted in
FIG. 3, at the place where the bottles 1 are deflected.
These bottles 1 arrive in the form of strings in the various lanes
11; they are driven along by the chain of the conveyor 13 at a
speed Ve and then, guided by the walls 16 and 17, move on to the
second conveyor 14 the speed of which is lower than that of the
previous conveyor 13.
It will be noted that the ends of the conveyor 13 are positioned on
a common shaft 23 and that the ends of the conveyors 14 are
likewise positioned on a common shaft 24. The ends of the conveyors
15 are, once again, positioned on a common shaft 25.
The bottles 1 travel from one conveyor 13 to the other 14 at a
relatively small angle d of deflection, which angle is dependent on
the width of said conveyors and on their flanking distance D.
The width of each lane 11 is smaller than the width of a pair of
chains 7 of the conveyor 13, 14.
Because the lanes 11 are independent, each may have means for
adjusting its width in order to adapt it to suit the items that are
to be guided.
It is also possible, as detailed in the next FIGS. 5 to 9, to
produce an adjusting system which comprises a fixed wall 16 and a
moving wall 17.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show an arrangement of this type with walls 16 which
are fixed and walls 17 which can be moved transversely in order to
alter the width of the lanes 11 to suit the type of bottles 1 to be
controlled.
FIG. 5 shows in greater detail an arrangement of the walls that
form the lanes, which arrangement has the special feature of
leaving the top of the conveyor installation free and therefore of
offering an entirely clear view of the bottles 1.
FIG. 5 shows the vario-conveyor in the form of an elevation with
two part sections: one of them, a section on AA in the region of
the conveyors 14, showing how small-sized bottles 1 are guided and
the other of them a section on BB in the region of the conveyors
13, showing how large-sized bottles 1 are guided.
This vario-conveyor comprises an overall chassis 26 on which the
chains 7 of the various conveyors are guided.
The walls 16 of the various conveyors 11 are fixed, carried by a
structure which corresponds to the chassis 26, whereas the walls 17
are able to move transversely, carried by an appropriate structure
detailed hereinafter.
These walls 17 are mounted on a structure 27 which is guided
transversely by means of a system of slides 28 formed on said
chassis 26. For preference, this structure 27 is guided on the
chassis 26 which carries the fixed walls 16.
In particular, as FIG. 8 shows, the moving walls 17 are fixed to at
least one slide 28 by means of fixing brackets 18.
The fixed wall 16 are fixed to the chassis 26 by fixing brackets
19.
The slide 28 is U-shaped. It leans against the chassis 26 and is
guided by a system involving a roller 20, the pivot pin of which is
fixed to said chassis 26, which slide is mounted so that it is free
to move over the pivot pin of the roller 20 by means of a linear
opening 21 made in the bottom 22 of the U of said slide 28.
The structure 27 is able to move under the effect of an appropriate
maneuvering mechanism of the screw 29 and nut 30 type.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 8, the nut 30 is of the
floating nut type, to reduce friction between the latter and the
screw and make it easier for the screw to move in said nut.
This type of structure 27 and of maneuvering mechanism is repeated
at regular intervals along the length of the vario-conveyor to give
the various walls 17 that make up one of the sides of the lanes 11
a certain rigidity.
The various maneuvering mechanisms are operated in a coordinated
fashion by being manipulated together by means of a system 43
provided with an angle transmission and with a common shaft 44
running laterally along the length of the vario-conveyor
chassis.
More specifically, the system 43 provided with an angle
transmission comprises a gearwheel 45 (FIG. 8) which moves as one
with the screw 29.
The teeth of the gearwheel 45 engage with a screw thread of the
shaft 44 so that when the shaft 44 is turned, it causes the wheel
45 to turn.
In the context of this exemplary embodiment, the shaft 24 is
flexible.
Such a flexible shaft is easier to install and can easily adopt a
curved shape, so that it can match the shape of the installation,
from one maneuvering system 23 to an adjacent maneuvering system
23.
In the context of this exemplary embodiment, the thread is
surrounded in such a way that the shaft/gearwheel pair has a ratio
of 1 to 40. In other words, when the shaft 44 is turned, it has to
be turned through 40 turns for the wheel to effect one turn.
It should be understood that such a cable could be produced
differently without departing from the context of the
invention.
The angle transmission system 43 is fixed to a side wall of the
installation which is readily accessible should maintenance be
required.
For preference, the angle transmission system 43 is fixed to the
outer wall of the installation, when the installation has
curves.
To avoid any soiling of the gearwheel 45, or more broadly speaking
of the angle transmission system 43, the gearwheel 45 is enclosed
in a box 35 which is closed, and which has means for opening it
easily (in order to carry out maintenance), such as through-holes
36 made in a first shell of the box collaborating with threaded
blind holes produced in a second shell of the box and able to
accept a screw (not depicted).
The shaft 44 may be housed in a fixed sheath 46 which extends
between the angle transmission systems 43.
The arrangement depicted in FIG. 5 is found also in FIGS. 6 and 7;
the structure 27 which supports the moving walls 17 is housed and
guided by means of a system of slides on a gantry-shaped crosspiece
31 which is secured to the chassis 26 of the vario-conveyor, and
which is situated above the surface on which the bottles 1 are
conveyed.
It should be understood that the invention is not restricted to the
presence of such a maneuvering system 43 and that it could comprise
other equivalent means.
In particular, without departing from the scope of the invention,
the maneuvering system could be produced in the form of a crank 37,
as shown in FIG. 9.
The web 38 of the crank 37 could then be connected directly to a
screw 29' collaborating with a nut 30'.
It will be noted that the nut 30' may not be a floating nut, as
shown by FIG. 9.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing description how the
installation according to the invention can be adapted to suit all
sizes of bottle, and how it allows the speed of the bottles to be
varied from one workstation to another.
However, it must be understood that the invention is not restricted
to the embodiments specifically described and depicted in the
figures and that it extends to cover any equivalent means.
* * * * *